ERIC Number: EJ1256122
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1062-7197
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Measuring Students' Ability to Engage in Scientific Inquiry: A New Instrument to Assess Data Analysis, Explanation, and Argumentation
Seeratan, Kavita L.; McElhaney, Kevin W.; Mislevy, Jessica; McGhee, Raymond, Jr.; Conger, Dylan; Long, Mark C.
Educational Assessment, v25 n2 p112-135 2020
We describe the conceptualization, design, development, validation, and testing of a summative instrument that measures high school students' ability to analyze and evaluate data, construct scientific explanations, and formulate scientific arguments in biology and chemistry disciplinary contexts. Data from 1,405 students were analyzed to evaluate the properties of the instrument. Student measurement separation reliability was 0.71 with items showing satisfactory fit to the Partial Credit Model. The use of the Evidence-Centered Design framework during the design and development process provided a strong foundation for the validity argument. Additional evidence for validation were also gathered. The strengths of the instrument lie in its relatively brief time for administration and a unique approach that integrates science practice and disciplinary knowledge, while simultaneously seeking to decouple their measurement. This research models how to design assessments that align to the National Research Council's framework and informs the design of Next Generation Science Standards-aligned assessments.
Descriptors: High School Students, Science Process Skills, Student Evaluation, Science Tests, Summative Evaluation, Test Construction, Test Validity, Test Reliability, Biology, Chemistry, Item Response Theory, Goodness of Fit, Test Items, Difficulty Level, Scoring Rubrics
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1220092
Author Affiliations: N/A